Amazon's Texas gas plant is permitted for more CO2 than any US power plant
Amazon is backing a 7.65-gigawatt, 35-turbine natural gas plant in Pecos County, Texas to run an off-grid AI data center, permitted for 33 million tons of CO2 a year — roughly double the dirtiest US coal facility. That permit is the real price tag on frontier-scale compute: hyperscalers are now building their own fossil generation instead of waiting on the grid, and Amazon's emissions rose 16% last year. An Amazon spokesperson said "the world looks different now than when we co-founded the climate pledge" while maintaining the 2040 net-zero commitment stands.
Source: techcrunch.com ↗
The world looks different now than when we co-founded the climate pledge
Amazon spokesperson
Why this matters
- → Amazon's data center gas plant permitted for more CO2 than any US power plant
- → Hyperscalers now build fossil plants on-site rather than wait for grid capacity
- → Directly contradicts 2040 net-zero pledge amid 16% emissions rise last year
Frontier AI's carbon bill